James Ayliffe QC

Insolvency CV

James has wide experience of insolvency matters, both corporate (liquidations, administrations and CVAs) and individual (bankruptcy and IVAs).

He also has particular expertise in two specific areas:

• transaction avoidance - eg transactions at an undervalue, preferences, transactions defrauding creditors - he is co-author of Transaction Avoidance in Insolvencies (2^nd ed, OUP, 2011) ; and
• real estate-related insolvency - eg disclaimer/vesting orders, recovery of rent as an expense of administration or liquidation, disclaimer - he edits the insolvency chapter in one of the principal practitioner texts on landlord and tenant law (Hill & Redman's Law of Landlord & Tenant).

Some representative cases include:

• acting for tax authorities of foreign state seeking avoidance of transactions by which insolvent tax debtor transferred many £100ms into offshore tax havens;  
• obtaining vesting order under s 181 Insolvency Act 1986 in favour of guarantor to help mitigate on-going annual costs of £2.5m pa following disclaimer of lease by liquidator of insolvent tenant;
• advising administrators of insolvent company regarding issues of priority arising between two secured lenders;
• advising lender as to potential voidability of proposed transactions with customer under ss 238-239 Insolvency Act 1986;
• advising landlords with insolvent retail chains as tenants in relation to their entitlement to payment of rent as an expense in the tenants' administration and potential challenges to the Goldacre decision;
• advising Halliwells' landlords regarding insolvency issues arising out of the firm's high-profile collapse;
• acting for well-known car dealership in complex dispute arising out of conduct of company administration;
• advising purchasers of apartments in luxury development regarding their options following insolvency of developer/landlord;
• advising respondents to application by liquidators under s 236 Insolvency Act 1986 for disclosure of information relevant to potential £50m claim.